Can PEX be used with old radiator system?

Joe A.

I have an old cast iron hot water heat system(the boiler is fairly new).I want to move 1 radiator and install a new floor hydronic register. Can I use PEX instead of the old cast iron pipe to hook up the old radiator and the new register ?? Thanks for any advice..Joe

kevin coppinger_4

questions....

is the system pumped or gravity....what is the size of the steel piping going to the radiator? If pumped and the pex used will be the same size why not.....kpc

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Wayco Wayne_2

I use pex for that purpose

all the time. I prefer PAP (pex aluinum pex) pipe because it holds it's form more and looks better because it doesnt droop when hot. (regular pex can loop like spaghetti when hot.) One thing to consider is the size of your other pipes. For instance if the system is an old gravity system with 2 inch mains and 1.5 inch branches, you had better not use 1/2 inch PAP for you may be out of balance. This may not be your case. More and more homeowners ask us to demo the old gravity pipes so they can finish their basement and regain some ceiling height. We then use PAP from a manifold and run a pair of pipes to each radiator in a home run fashion. You can run the pipes out of sight, up in the joists and when you're done you can balance the radiators from the manifold valves.

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